Oil fell this week as prospects for a global economic slowdown weighed heavily on the demand outlook.
West Texas Intermediate futures dropped 6.7 percent for the week amid tightening monetary policy and renewed anti-COVID-19 lockdowns in China, as traders shrugged off an announcement by G7 leaders of plans to cap the price of Russian crude in retaliation for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression in Ukraine.
West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery closed on Friday up 0.3 percent to US$86.87, while Brent Crude for October delivery rose 0.71 percent to US$93.02, falling 7.53 percent from a week earlier.
The G7 move is largely symbolic “as the Russians are proving capable of circumventing restrictions already imposed by the G7 countries, and hitting a record high export volume in August despite sanctions,” analysts at wholesale-fuel distributor TACenergy wrote in a note to clients.
On Friday, prices briefly rebounded after the US Department of State said the Iran’s latest response to nuclear-deal proposals was “not constructive.”
The talks are being closely watched by oil traders because any deal to relax sanctions could allow more Iranian crude to flow into markets.
Oil fell by more than 20 percent in the three months through last month, erasing all of the gains since Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine.
The price retreat poses a challenge for OPEC and its allies, with ministers due to meet tomorrow to plan output policy. While OPEC-watchers expect the group to keep supplies steady, Saudi Arabian Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman raised the possibility of a production cut in remarks last week.
Widely watched time spreads, an indicator of market tightness, have been volatile. Brent’s prompt spread — the difference between its nearest two contracts — was US$1.21 a barrel in a backwardation, compared with almost US$2 a barrel at the end of last week and US$0.63 two weeks ago.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said its materials management head, Vanessa Lee (李文如), had tendered her resignation for personal reasons. The personnel adjustment takes effect tomorrow, TSMC said in a statement. The latest development came one month after Lee reportedly took leave from the middle of last month. Cliff Hou (侯永清), senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer, is to concurrently take on the role of head of the materials management division, which has been under his supervision, TSMC said. Lee, who joined TSMC in 2022, was appointed senior director of materials management and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Thursday met with US President Donald Trump at the White House, days before a planned trip to China by the head of the world’s most valuable chipmaker, people familiar with the matter said. Details of what the two men discussed were not immediately available, and the people familiar with the meeting declined to elaborate on the agenda. Spokespeople for the White House had no immediate comment. Nvidia declined to comment. Nvidia’s CEO has been vocal about the need for US companies to access the world’s largest semiconductor market and is a frequent visitor to China.
Hypermarket chain Carrefour Taiwan and upscale supermarket chain Mia C’bon on Saturday announced the suspension of their partnership with Jkopay Co (街口支付), one of Taiwan’s largest digital payment providers, amid a lawsuit involving its parent company. Carrefour and Mia C’bon said they would notify customers once Jkopay services are reinstated. The two retailers joined an array of other firms in suspending their partnerships with Jkopay. On Friday night, popular beverage chain TP Tea (茶湯會) also suspended its use of the platform, urging customers to opt for alternative payment methods. Another drinks brand, Guiji (龜記), on Friday said that it is up to individual
STABLE RESULTS: Despite June’s lower consolidated revenue, second-quarter sales still reached a record high, driven by demand for chips for AI applications Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday reported consolidated sales of NT$263.71 billion (US$9.02 billion) for last month, its second-lowest monthly result this year. The world’s largest contract chipmaker said in a statement that its revenue last month only fared better than the NT$260.01 billion posted in February. Last month’s figure rose 26.9 percent from a year earlier, but slumped 17.7 percent from May, the company said. However, second-quarter revenue reached NT$933.8 billion, a record high for a single quarter, company data showed. The figure represented growth of 11.26 percent from the first quarter and 38.6 percent from a year earlier. Previously, TSMC said that
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